Dopamine improves defective cortical and muscular connectivity during bilateral control of gait in Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's Disease (PD)-typical declines in gait coordination are possibly explained by weakness in bilateral cortical and muscular connectivity. Here, we seek to determine whether this weakness and consequent decline in gait coordination is affected by dopamine levels. To this end, we compare cortico-cortical, cortico-muscular, and intermuscular connectivity and gait outcomes between body sides in people with PD under ON and OFF medication states, and in older adults. In our study, participants walked back and forth along a 12 m corridor. Gait events (heel strikes and toe-offs) and electrical cortical and muscular activities were measured and used to compute cortico-cortical, cortico-muscular, and intermuscular connectivity (i.e., coherences in the alpha, beta, and gamma bands), as well as features characterizing gait performance (e.g., the step-timing coordination, length, and speed). We observe that people with PD, mainly during the OFF medication, walk with reduced step-timing coordination. Additionally, our results suggest that dopamine intake in PD increases the overall cortico-muscular connectivity during the stance and swing phases of gait. We thus conclude that dopamine corrects defective feedback caused by impaired sensory-information processing and sensory-motor integration, thus increasing cortico-muscular coherences in the alpha bands and improving gait.

Facilitating Access to Current, Evidence-Based Health Information for Non-English Speakers.

Scientific communication is crucial for the development of societies and the advancement of knowledge. However, many countries, and, consequently, their researchers, clinicians and community members, lack access to this information due to the information being disseminated in English rather than their native language. In this viewpoint, we aim to discuss the impacts of this problem and also outline recommendations for facilitating non-English speakers' access to current, evidence-based health information, thus extending the impact of science beyond academia. First, the authors discuss the barriers to accessing scientific health information for non-English speakers and highlight the negative impact of imposing English as a predominant language in academia. Next, the authors discuss the impacts of reduced access to clinical information for non-English speakers and how this reduced access impacts clinicians, clients, and health systems. Finally, the authors provide recommendations for enhancing access to scientific communication worldwide.

Transcranial direct current stimulation suggests not improving postural control during adapted tandem position in people with Parkinson's disease: A pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Balance impairments in people with Parkinson's disease (PD) demonstrated mainly in challenging postural tasks, such as increased body oscillation may be attributed to the deficits in the brain structures functionality involved in postural control (e.g., motor cortex, midbrain, and brainstem). Although promising results, the effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on postural control in people with PD is unclear, especially in objective measures such as the center of pressure (CoP) parameters. Thus, we analyzed the effects of a single session of tDCS on the CoP parameters during the adapted tandem position in people with PD. METHODS: Nineteen people with PD participated in this crossover, randomized, and double-blind study. Anodal tDCS was applied over the primary motor cortex in two conditions of stimulation (2 mA/active and sham) on two different days for 20 min immediately before the postural control evaluation. Participants remained standing in an adapted tandem position for the postural control assessment for 30 s (three trials). CoP parameters were acquired by a force plate. RESULTS: No significant differences were demonstrated between stimulation conditions (p-value range = 0.15-0.89). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggested that a single session of tDCS with 2 mA does not improve the postural control of people with PD during adapted tandem.

Being physically active minimizes the effects of leg muscle fatigue on obstacle negotiation in people with Parkinson's disease.

It is challenging for people with Parkinson's disease (PwPD) to adjust their gait to perturbations, including fatigue. Obstacle negotiation increases the risk of tripping and falling in PD. Being physically active can improve gait control and the ability to negotiate obstacles while walking under fatigue state. We thus determined the effects of Parkinson's disease, fatigue, and level of physical activity on gait during the approach to and crossing an obstacle during gait. Forty participants were stratified to people with Parkinson's disease active and inactive, and control individuals active and inactive. Participants walked on an 8 m walkway and stepped over an obstacle placed at the middle (4 m). They performed three trials before and after repeated sit-to-stand (rSTS)-induced fatigue state. Maximum voluntary force was assessed before and after rSTS. We measured the length, width, duration, and velocity of the approach (stride before obstacle) and crossing (step over the obstacle) phases and the leading and trailing placements and clearance during crossing phase. Fatigue trait was determined by multidimensional fatigue inventory. Before rSTS, people with Parkinson's disease inactive vs. other subgroups approached the obstacle using 18-28% shorter, wider and slower steps and crossed the obstacle slower (all p < 0.04). After rSTS, people with Parkinson's disease inactive increased (23-34%) stride length and velocity and decreased (-21%) the step width (p < 0.01). People with Parkinson's disease approached the obstacle similarly to control individuals. Physical activity minimizes Parkinson's disease-typical gait impairments during obstacle negotiation and affords a protective effect against fatigue-effects on obstacle negotiation.

Effect of different types of exercises on psychological and cognitive features in people with Parkinson's disease: A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative and progressive disease marked by the presence of motor and non-motor symptoms, as psychological and cognitive impairment. Physical exercises have been prescribed as complementary therapy for PD, and the type of intervention and duration of the intervention should be taken into account. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to compare the effect of different exercise modalities (functional mobility, multimodal and cognitive) and length (4 and 8 months) on psychological and cognition in people with PD. This study followed the CONSORT extension for non-pharmacological trials. METHODS: In this randomized controlled trial, we assessed 107 participants between 2011 and 2013. At the end of 3 years, participants with PD (mild to moderate stages) who achieved the criteria were assessed considering 3 different groups of exercise: Multimodal (n=38), Functional Mobility (n=33) and Mental/Leisure (n=36). All 3 interventions were performed for 32 weeks, twice a week, with 60min for each session (64 sessions in total). Psychological and cognitive function were assessed at baseline and after 4 and 8 months. RESULTS: The Functional Mobility and Mental/Leisure training had a potential effect on maintaining cognitive function (executive function, attention and work memory). The Multimodal training did not show a benefit for cognitive features and was not even able to delay the progressive decline in cognitive functions; however, this modality had a positive effect on physical stress after 8 months of exercise. CONCLUSIONS: An intervention that requires high complexity and specific activities, such as locomotor and cognitive exercise, provides a maintenance effect against the degeneration in cognition associated with the progression of PD and thus can delay the progressive decline in cognitive function in PD.

Effects of experimentally induced fatigue on healthy older adults' gait: A systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: While fatigue is ubiquitous in old age and visibly interferes with mobility, studies have not yet examined the effects of self-reported fatigue on healthy older adults' gait. As a model that simulates this daily phenomenon, we systematically reviewed eleven studies that compared the effects of experimentally induced muscle and mental performance fatigability on gait kinematics, variability, kinetics, and muscle activity in healthy older adults. METHODS: We searched for studies in databases (PubMed and Web of Science) using Fatigue, Gait, and Clinical conditions as the main terms and extracted the data only from studies that experimentally induced fatigue by sustained muscle or mental activities in healthy older adults. RESULTS: Eleven studies were included. After muscle performance fatigability, six of nine studies observed increases in stride length, width, gait velocity (Effect Size [ES] range: 0.30 to 1.22), inter-stride trunk acceleration variability (ES: 2.06), and ankle muscle coactivation during gait (ES: 0.59, n = 1 study). After sustained mental activity, the coefficient of variation of stride outcomes increased (ES: 0.59 to 0.67, n = 1 study) during dual-task but not single-task walking. CONCLUSION: Muscle performance fatigability affects spatial and temporal features of gait and, mainly, inter-stride trunk acceleration variability. In contrast, sustained mental activity tends only to affect step variability during dual tasking. A critical and immediate step for future studies is to determine the effects of self-reported fatigue on gait biomechanics and variability in healthy older adults to verify the viability of experimentally induced fatigue as a model for the study of gait adaptability in old age.

Minimal effects of age and prolonged physical and mental exercise on healthy adults' gait.

BACKGROUND: Gait adaptability in old age can be examined by responses to various perturbations. Fatigability due to mental or muscle exercises can perturb internal cognitive and muscle resources, necessitating adaptations in gait. RESEARCH QUESTION: What are the effects of age and mental and muscle fatigability on stride outcomes and gait variability? METHODS: Twelve older (66-75yrs) and twelve young (20-25 yrs) adults walked at 1.2 m/s before and after two fatigue conditions in two separate sessions. Fatigue conditions were induced by repetitive sit-to-stand task (RSTS) and by 30-min of mental tasks and randomized between days (about a week apart). We calculated the average and coefficient of variation of stride length, width, single support, swing time and cadence, and the detrended fluctuations analysis (DFA) based on 120 strides time intervals. We also calculated multi-scale sample entropy (MSE) and the maximal Lyapunov exponent (λmax) of mediolateral (ML) and anteroposterior (AP) of the Center of Pressure (CoP) trajectories. RESULTS: In both age groups, RSTS modestly affected stride length, single support time, cadence, and CV of stride length (p ≤ 0.05), while the mental task did not affect gait. After fatigability, λmax - ML increased (p ≤ 0.05), independent of fatigue condition. All observed effects were small (η²: 0.001 to 0.02). SIGNIFICANCE: Muscle and mental fatigability had minimal effects on gait in young and healthy older adults possibly because treadmill walking makes gait uniform. It is still possible that age-dependent muscle activation underlies the uniform gait on the treadmill. Age- and fatigability effects might be more overt during real life compared with treadmill walking, creating a more effective model for examining gait and age adaptability to fatigability perturbations.

Author Correction: Variability of crossing phase in older people with Parkinson's disease is dependent of obstacle height.

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has not been fixed in the paper.

Postural control after unexpected external perturbation: Effects of Parkinson's disease subtype.

Different clinical subtypes of Parkinson's disease (PD) have long been recognized. Recent studies have focused on two PD subtypes: Postural Instability and Gait Difficulty (PIGD) and Tremor Dominant (TD). PIGD patients have greater difficulties in postural control in relation to TD. However, knowledge about the differences in reactive adjustment mechanisms following a perturbation in TD and PIGD is limited. This study aimed to compare reactive postural adjustments under unexpected external perturbation in TD, PIGD, and control group (CG) subjects. Forty-five individuals (15 TD, 15 PIGD, and 15 CG) participated in this study. Postural perturbation was applied by the posterior displacement of the support surface in an unexpected condition. The velocity (15 cm/s) and displacement (5 cm/s) of perturbation were the same for all participants. Center of pressure (CoP) and center of mass (CoM) were analyzed for two reactive windows after the perturbation (0-200 ms and 200-700 ms). The Bonferroni post hoc test indicated a higher range of CoP in the PIGD when compared to the CG (p = 0.021). The PIGD demonstrated greater time to recover the stable posture compared to the TD (p = 0.017) and CG (p = 0.003). Furthermore, the TD showed higher AP-acceleration peak of CoM when compared to the PIGD (p = 0.048) and CG (p = 0.013), and greater AP-acceleration range of CoM in relation to the CG (p = 0.022). These findings suggest that PD patients present worse reactive postural control after perturbation compared to healthy older individuals. CoP and CoM parameters are sensitive to understand and detect the differences in reactive postural mechanisms in PD subtypes.

Variability of crossing phase in older people with Parkinson's disease is dependent of obstacle height.

Our aim was investigating variability in spatiotemporal parameters and kinetics of obstacle avoidance steps of different height obstacles in people with Parkinson's disease (PD) and healthy older people. Twenty-eight participants have included (15 PD - stage disease: 2.1 ± 0.4 pts) and 13 healthy older people (control group). Each subject performed 10 trials of the following tasks: low obstacle, intermediate obstacle and high obstacle. The presentation order was randomized by block for each condition and participant. The spatiotemporal parameters was collected by GAITRite. An optoelectronic system (Optotrak Northern Digital Inc.) with 100 Hz of frequency was used to collect obstacle parameters. The kinect parameters (propulsion impulse and braking impulse) were acquire through two force plates (AccuGait), with a frequency of acquisition 200 Hz. Intersteps variability was calculated throughout mean values, standard deviation and coefficient of variation of two obstacle avoidance steps for each trial. PD group presented greater variability than control group on vertical and horizontal distances to the obstacle. Obstacle height did not change kinect's parameters for both groups. The combination of task complexity (obstacle height) and disease impairments (gait alteration, loss of balance, etc) contributing for greater variability of Parkinson's group. Besides, low obstacle and high obstacle seem to exacerbate variability of distance between obstacle and foot.

A program of physical activity improves gait impairment in people with Alzheimer's disease

AIM: This study aimed to identify the effects of aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD) on gait parameters after a four-month period and to investigate the effects of a four-month program of physical activity, with emphasis on the cognitive components of gait during single and dual task, in people with AD. METHODS: Twenty-three people with AD, divided into the Training Group (TG; n=12; aged 79.17±7.62 years) and the Control Group (CG; n=11; aged 77.00±5.57 years), and eleven healthy older adults (Healthy Group - HG; aged 75.82±4.83 years) were included in this study. TG participated in a physical activity program for four months. The CG and HG were instructed not to participate in any kind of regular physical activity in this period. The physical activity program includes motor activities and cognitive tasks simultaneously. The participants attended a 1-h session three times a week. The kinematic parameters of gait were analyzed under two conditions, before and after a physical activity program: single and dual task. Deltas for all dependent variables between pre and post training were calculated. The deltas were compared using two-way ANOVAs with group (TG x CG and CG x HG) and task (single x dual task) as factors, with repeated measures for task. RESULTS: After the training period, the TG improved stride length, duration, velocity and cadence compared to the CG. CONCLUSION: Physical activity with emphasis on cognitive components promotes better reallocation of attention while walking in people with AD, improving attentional focus on the gait and thus resulting in a safer locomotive pattern.(AU)

Walking behavior over multiple obstacles in people with Parkinson's disease.

The presence of a second obstacle changed the planning and adjustments for obstacle avoidance performance, but this context is poorly understood in Parkinson's disease (PD). The aim of this study was to investigate the walking behavior over multiple obstacles in people with PD. Nineteen people with PD and 19 healthy individuals walked across an 8m pathway, performing three trials for following conditions: unobstructed walking, walking with one obstacle avoidance (Single), and walking with two obstacles avoidance (Double). In the Double condition, the analysis was performed only for the first obstacle (First Double). The dependent variables were calculated separately for the approach and crossing phases in the obstacle conditions. The main results show that people with PD decreased single support and increased double support phase in both Single and Double conditions compared to the unobstructed walking. Both groups increased stride duration during approach phase in the Double condition compared to the unobstructed walking and Single conditions. The presence of the second obstacle led to a decrease in trailing toe clearance during obstacle avoidance of the First Double. In conclusion, people with PD use a conservative strategy while approaching obstacles. Both groups need more time to obtain and process environmental information and plan the action in environments with multiple obstacles. The smaller leading toe clearance might be an indicative that the presence of a second obstacle increase the likelihood of tripping during obstacle avoidance in both people with PD and healthy individuals.

Different types of additional somatosensory information do not promote immediate benefits on gait in patients with Parkinson's disease and older adults / Diferentes tipos de informação somatossensorial adicional não promovem benefícios imediatos no andar de pacientes com doença de Parkinson e idosos sadios / Diferentes tipos de información somatosensorial adicional no promueven beneficios inmediatos sobre la marcha en pacientes con enfermedad de Parkinson y los mayores saludables

Plantar cutaneous stimulation has been shown to improve gait in Parkinson's disease (PD), but the effects of different types of insoles have not been tested. We evaluated the immediate effect of different types of insoles on gait in PD patients and healthy older adults. Nineteen PD patients and nineteen healthy older adults performed and performed a walking task at their self-selected speed in three conditions: conventional insole, insole with a raised ridge around the foot perimeter, and insole with half-spheres. Plantar sensation was evaluated before and after the walking protocol. There were no differences between groups for plantar sensation before and after the walking task. PD patients demonstrated reduced stride length and stride velocity. There were no immediate benefits offered by the insoles on gait of either group. The increased plantar cutaneous stimulation does not promote immediate benefits on gait in PD patients and healthy older adults.

A estimulação cutânea plantar beneficia o andar de pacientes com doença de Parkinson (DP), mas os efeitos de diferentes tipos de palmilhas ainda não foram testados. Nós avaliamos o efeito imediato de diferentes tipos de palmilhas no andar de pacientes com DP e idosos saudáveis. Dezenove pacientes com DP e dezenove idosos sadios andaram em três condições: palmilha convencional, palmilha com borda na parte externa da superfície do pé e palmilha com semi-esferas. A sensibilidade plantar foi avaliada antes e após o protocolo do andar. Não foram encontradas diferenças entre os grupos para sensibilidade plantar antes e após a tarefa do andar. Os pacientes apresentaram reduzida velocidade e menor comprimento da passada. Não foram verificados benefícios imediatos das palmilhas no andar para os grupos. O aumento na estimulação cutânea plantar não promoveu benefícios imediatos no andar de pacientes com DP e controles.

La estimulación plantar beneficia el andar e de pacientes con enfermedad de Parkinson-(EP), pero los efectos de diferentes tipos de plantillas no fueron testados. Evaluamos el efecto inmediato de diferentes tipos de plantillas en el andar de pacientes con EP y en mayores saludables. Diecinueve pacientes con EP y diecinueve controles fueron evaluados en el andar en tres condiciones: plantilla convencional, plantilla con borde en la superficie exterior del pie e plantilla con semi-esferas. La sensibilidad plantar fue evaluada antes y después de lo andar. No hubo diferencias entre los grupos para la sensibilidad plantar antes y después de lo andar. Los pacientes mostraron velocidad reducida y menor longitud de la zancada. No hubo beneficios inmediatos de las plantillas en el andar para los grupos. El aumento en la estimulación plantar no promovió beneficios inmediatos en el andar para los grupos.

Efeitos do exercicio agudo sobre biomarcadores sericos de ratos diabeticos / The effects of acute exercise on serum biomarkers in diabetics rats / Efectos del ejercicio agudo sobre biomarcadores de suero em ratones diabeticos

INTRODUÇÃO: As respostas ao exercício agudo dos biomarcadores, como a fosfatase alcalina (FA) e a creatina quinase (CK) séricas têm sido pouco investigadas em ratos diabéticos. OBJETIVOS: Verificar os efeitos do exercício físico aeróbio agudo sobre as concentrações de CK e FA, bem como, avaliar o estado hídrico em ratos diabéticos experimentais. MATERIAIS E MÉTODOS Foram utilizados ratos Wistar machos, adultos jovens, distribuídos em dois grupos: diabéticos (DA) e controles (CA). O diabetes foi induzido por meio da administração de aloxana monoidratado Sigma(r) (32 mg/kg de peso corporal). Duas semanas após confirmação do diabetes, ambos os grupos foram submetidos a uma sessão aguda de natação por 30 min, com carga aeróbia (4,5 % do peso corporal). Foram avaliados: glicose, hematócrito, CK, FA, albumina e a cinética de lactato durante o exercício por meio de coletas 25 µL de sangue da cauda dos animais, nos minutos 0, 10, 20 e 30 de exercício. RESULTADOS: ANOVA de dois fatores para medidas repetidas e o teste post hoc de Tukey apontaram diminuição significativa dos valores de glicemia após o exercício para o grupo DA, aumento significativo de CK pós-exercício para o grupo DA, aumento significativo de hematócrito para ambos os grupos após exercício e manutenção da FA após exercício para o grupo DA. CONCLUSÃO: O exercício agudo aeróbio foi eficiente no controle dos níveis glicêmicos de ratos diabéticos. Entretanto, deve ser aplicado com cautela, pois induziu altos valores de CK, sugerindo possíveis lesões teciduais. .

INTRODUCTION: The responses to acute exercise on biomarkers, such as alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and creatine kinase (CK) serum levels have been little investigated in diabetic rats. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effects of acute aerobic exercise on the concentrations of CK and ALP as well as evaluating the hydration status in diabetic rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Were used male Wistar rats, young adults, divided into two groups: diabetic (DA) and controls (CA). The diabetes was induced in the rats by administration of alloxan monohydrate Sigma(r) (32 mg/kg body weight). Two weeks after confirmation of diabetes, both groups were subjected to an acute swim session for 30 min, with aerobic load (4.5% body weight). Glucose, hematocrit, CK, ALP, albumin and lactate kinetics during exercise were evaluated by collecting 25µL of blood from the tail of the animals in minutes 0, 10, 20 and 30 of exercise. RESULTS: Two-way ANOVA for repeated measures and post hoc Tukey test showed significant decrease of glycemia after exercise for the DA group, significant increase in CK after exercise for the DA group, significant increase in hematocrit for both groups after exercise and maintenance of ALP after exercise for the DA group. CONCLUSION: The acute aerobic exercise was effective in controlling glucose levels in diabetic rats. However, it should be applied with caution, because it induced high CK values, suggesting possible tissue damage. .

INTRODUCCIÓN: Las respuestas al ejercicio agudo de los biomarcadores, como la fosfatasa alcalina (FA) y la creatina quinasa (CK) séricas han sido poco investigadas en ratones diabéticos. OBJETIVOS: Verificar los efectos del ejercicio físico aeróbico agudo sobre las concentraciones de CK y FA, bien como evaluar el estado hídrico en ratones diabéticos experimentales. MATERIALES Y MÉTODOS: Fueron utilizados ratones Wistar machos, adultos jóvenes, distribuidos en dos grupos: diabéticos (DA) y controles (CA). La diabetes fue inducida por medio de la administración de aloxana monohidratado Sigma(r) (32 mg/kg de peso corporal). Dos semanas después de la confirmación de la diabetes, ambos grupos fueron sometidos a una sesión aguda de natación por 30 minutos, con carga aeróbica (4,5% del peso corporal). Fueron evaluados: Glucosa, hematocrito, CK, FA, albumina y La cinética de lactato durante el ejercicio por medio de colectas de 25 µL de sangre de la cola de los animales, en los minutos 0, 10, 20 y 30 de ejercicio. RESULTADOS: ANOVA de dos factores para medidas repetidas y el test post hoc de Tukey apuntaron disminución significativa de los valores de glicemia después del ejercicio para el grupo DA, aumento significativo de CK después del ejercicio para el grupo DA, aumento significativo de hematocrito para ambos grupos después del ejercicio y mantenimiento de la FA después del ejercicio para el grupo DA. CONCLUSIÓN: El ejercicio agudo aeróbico fue eficiente en el control de los niveles glicémicos de ratones diabéticos. Entretanto, debe ser aplicado con cautela, pues indujo altos valores de CK, sugiriendo posibles lesiones tisulares. .

Systematic review of the effects of fatigue on spatiotemporal gait parameters.

PURPOSE: This systematic review aimed to assess changes on spatiotemporal gait parameters due to fatigue. MATERIAL AND METHOD: A search was carried out in literature published from 1950 to December 2010 and retrieved 771 articles using terms referring to walking and fatigue in the title, abstract or keywords. Two researchers assessed the selection and quality of each article independently. RESULTS: Seven studies were selected for this systematic review, two of which reported on the same data set. Several spatiotemporal parameters were reported to change with fatigue, but the few variables studied in multiple studies, gait speed and stride or step length and stride time, were affected only in single studies. Fatigue appears to modulate spatiotemporal gait parameters, but the effects of fatigue appear to be dependent on the muscles that were fatigued, and age that appears to be a moderator of the effects of fatigue on gait.

Revisão sistemática do efeito do envelhecimento no andar livre e adaptativo / Systematic review of the effect of aging on the free and adaptive gait

O envelhecimento parece comprometer o andar dos indivíduos. Entretanto, ainda não é claro quais são os efeitos do envelhecimento no andar. O objetivo deste estudo foi determinar as mudanças nos parâmetros cinemáticos, cinéticos e eletromiográficos do andar livre e adaptativo, em velocidade preferida, causadas pelo envelhecimento. A estratégia de busca inicial foi realizada para identificar os artigos que analisaram o andar livre e adaptativo. Foram utilizadas as bases de dados eletrônicas MEDLINE, PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Sports Discus, DARE, PsychInfo, ERIC, AusportMed, AMI, Cochrane e PEDro. Vinte e três artigos foram revisados na íntegra. Idosos são mais lentos, têm menor comprimento do passo e maior duração de duplo suporte do que adultos jovens durante o andar livre e adaptativo. Ainda, eles apresentaram maiores demandas musculares, ocorrendo redistribuição da potência e do torque articular e aplicação de menor força na fase de propulsão e de absorção da massa corporal. Concluiu-se que idosos modificam os parâmetros cinemáticos, cinéticos e eletromiográficos do andar livre e adaptativo quando comparados a adultos jovens.

Aging seems to impair the walking. However, it is not clear the effects of aging on walking. The aim of this study was to determine changes in kinematic, kinetic and electromyographic parameters of the free and adaptive gait, in preferred velocity, caused by aging. The initial search strategy was performed to identify all articles that examined the free and adaptive gait. The electronic databases analyzed were: MEDLINE, PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Sports Discus, DARE, PsychInfo, ERIC, AusportMed, AMI, Cochrane and PEDro. Twenty-three articles were reviewed in full. Elderly are slower, with shorter step length and longer double support duration than young adults during free and adaptive gait. Even, they showed higher muscular demands, with redistribution of joint power and torque and decreased force in the propulsion and absorption phases. It was concluded that elderly present altered kinematic, kinetic and electromyographic parameters of free and adaptive gait compared to young adults.